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front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page i In the Land of Mirrors front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page ii front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page iii In the Land of Mirrors Cuban Exile Politics in the United States María de los Angeles Torres Ann Arbor front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page iv Copyright © by the University of Michigan 1999 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2002 2001 2000 1999 4321 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Torres, María de los Angeles. In the land of mirrors : Cuban exile politics in the United States / María de los Angeles Torres. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-472-11021-7 (alk. paper) 1. Cuban Americans—Politics and government. 2. Cubans—United States—Politics and government. I. Title. E184.C97T67 1999 324'.089'687294073—dc21 99-36965 CIP front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page v In memory of Lourdes Casal, who built the bridge, and Eliseo Diego, who opened the door. For my daughters, Alejandra María and Paola Camila Piers-Torres —may they relish their multiple heritage. front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page vi De‹nición Exilio es vivir donde no existe casa alguna en la que hayamos sido niños; donde no hay ratas en los patios ni almidonadas solteronas tejiendo tras las celosias . De‹nition Exile is to live where no house exists in which we have been children; where there are no rats in the patio or unmarried women in starched clothing knitting behind a trellis . —Lourdes Casal, Palabras Juntan Revolución (1981) El Espejo Está dormido el espejo en la noche de verano. Las sillas, la mesa, el piano, dan un livido re›ejo como en los sueños de un viejo las memorias de otros años. Y el hilo que va en los paños iluminando el misterio, es el rojo farol serio del tren distante y extraño. The Mirror The mirror is sleeping on a summer evening. The chairs, the table, the piano, give off a livid re›ection like the dreams of an old man the memories of other years. And the thread that goes through the tapestry illuminating the mystery, is the serious red lantern of the distant and foreign train. —Eliseo Diego, Nombrar las Cosas (1973) front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page vii Contents List of Illustrations viii List of Tables xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction: Of Memory and Mirrors 1 Chapter 1. The Conceptual Framework: Nation-States and the Politics and Identity of Exiles 22 Chapter 2. El Exilio: National Security Interests and the Origins of the Cuban Exile Enclave 42 Chapter 3. The 1960s: Entrance, Backlash, and Resettlement Programs 62 Chapter 4. The 1970s: Pluralization, Radicalization, and Homeland 84 Chapter 5. The 1980s: Entering Mainstream Politics 105 Chapter 6. Cuban Exile Politics at the End of the Cold War 127 Chapter 7. The End of Socialism and Cuban Miami’s Transition 155 Chapter 8. Diaspora Politics and Identity: Rethinking Theory, Politics, and the Personal 176 Notes 201 Index 225 front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page viii Illustrations Entre Miami y La Habana / Between Miami and Havana Eduardo Aparicio The portfolio of diptychs in this volume combines images of Cuba (mostly of Havana, taken during my first return visit, in February 1994), and images of the Miami area. The presentation aims to be neither binary nor hierarchical, but rather to invite the viewer to see them as multiple versions of a shared reality. The task of determining at a quick glance what side of the Strait of Florida each image was taken is challenged. Instead of reinforcing contrasts, these diptychs point to the similari- ties in two realities that are generally considered opposites. These images question the currency of our national fetishes (the flag, the map of Cuba, the image of José Martí, the image of Che Guevara, the Cuban royal palm) at a time of a paradigmatic shift in the conceptualization of Cuban nationhood, while evidencing the erosion and deterioration of Cuban national iconography, both in Cuba and in Miami. The first public exhibition of these diptychs was in September 1996, at the gallery Espacio Aglutinador in Havana, curated by Sandra Ceballos. front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page ix Aquí/Here 2 Rastro/Traces 24 Masculinidad y Nación/Masculinity and Nation 44 Triunfos/Triumphs 64 Martí 86 Iconos/Icons 106 Ayúdame/Help Me 128 Envíos/Shipments 156 Libres y Victoriosos/Free and Victorious 178 Eduardo Aparicio (b. Guanabacoa, Cuba, 1956) is a photographer and writer. He has lived in Miami since 1994. front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page x front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page xi Tables 1. Total Number of Cubans Residing in the United States, 1850–1990 40 2. Exile Groups 58 3. Cuban Migration to the United States, 1959–72 72 4. Educational Attainment, 1960–93 77 5. Resettled Refugees by State, as of December 1972 81 6. Partial List of Bombings by Cuban Émigré Terrorists, 1973–80 102 7. Contributions by Individuals with Cuban Interests to Presidential Candidates 132 8. Individual and PAC Contributions to Congressional Candidates 133 9. Positions of Cuban Exile Community on the Future of Cuba 142 front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page xii front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page xiii Preface I was born in Cuba and sent to the United States at the age of six. I was one of the fourteen thousand unaccompanied children who came as part of what became known as “Operation Pedro Pan.” Like half of these chil- dren, I was reunited with my parents within months. Also like many other Cuban families who came to the United States in the early 1960s, we were relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. Raised outside the closely knit Miami émi- gré enclave, I was not protected from dehumanizing clashes with racism. These contributed to my search for alternative politics and my desire to return “home.” In the late 1960s and early 1970s I began to meet other Cuban exiles who, like myself, wanted to engage with our homeland. While we were a relatively small group, we managed to ‹nd our way back. The Cuban revolution seemed to offer an alternative to the social injustices we were witnessing in the United States. Yet, after years of returning to the island, I became aware of the corruption and abuses of the Cuban govern- ment—thus, the search for a perspective that could be critical of both gov- ernments. Each stage along the way has involved considerable emotional, political, and intellectual struggle. This book explores these journeys. My intellectual journey began as a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Lourdes Casal ‹rst suggested that I study Cuban exile poli- tics. The chair of the department, however, asked why I would choose such an insigni‹cant voting group. I persisted, despite the graduate pro- gram director’s concerns about whether or not a Cuban exile could be “objective” in studying exiles. I do not hide the fact that my perspectives are informed and shaped by events that occurred in my homeland when I was young. My experiences of leaving Cuba in the early 1960s and grow- ing up in the United States at a time of social and political upheaval have greatly marked my views as well.1 Other waves of Cuban exiles have arrived since the 1960s. My experiences differ from theirs in many ways. Yet there have been similarities in our dislocations; after all, the island has been ruled by one person for four decades, and U.S. policies toward Cuba have been hostile throughout this time. Although I share points of reference with other Cuban exiles, partic- ularly of my generation, my views are my own. I question the validity of front.qxd 10/11/1999 9:41 AM Page xiv xiv InPreface the Land of Mirrors perspectives that attempt to speak for others, particularly when the “oth- ers” have lived in political circumstances in which debate about issues of politics and identity have been dif‹cult. I believe that part of the process of discovering who we are occurs as we enter into dialogue with others around us. This includes our personal narratives as well.2 Still, I am reluctant to give up the quest for theorizing. After all, there may be conceptual tools that can help us understand differences instead of simply generalizing and consequently diluting and distorting experiences.3 This process can begin by elaborating examples of those realities that can- not be placed neatly in one or another of the conceptual categories that dominate our understanding of social reality. Inquiry about human behavior is subjective, precisely because it is done by human beings. Fur- thermore, if we learn something new about ourselves in the process of inquiry, we ourselves change.4 I would add that what has driven me to “observe” and “participate,” and what has in the process changed me as well, has been my commitment to engage in an intellectual struggle partic- ularly around issues that contribute to de‹ning who is entitled to partici- pate in politics.